First Encounters
by xSmolPidgex
Summary: Life is full of first encounters. In Jaehee's case, her first encounters tended to be more significant than most. For once, all she wanted was to meet someone so incredibly irrelevant, that she'd never see or hear from them again. So when she starts a conversation with a cashier, she thinks she's finally done it. She should've known better; her first encounters were never her last.
1. First Encounters (Jaehee)

**A/N: I wrote this 3 different times and scrapped it all. Secret Santas are always a good idea until you're actually writing them, in which case they're absolutely awful. At least I'm glad I have something up, finally. Anyway, hope you all enjoy**

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Life is full of first encounters. In Jaehee's case, her first encounters tended to be more significant than most.

Whether it be the first time she met her aunt and uncle after her parents passed or the first time she met the man who gave her a full ride to college, there was no first encounter (that Jaehee could remember) that didn't lead to one thing or another. For once, all she wanted was to meet someone so incredibly irrelevant, that she'd never see or hear from them again.

Alas, it was never meant to be.

Six semesters of university and with an impressive internship under her belt, Jaehee was finally ready to take on the world. She had no clear direction or goal; all she craved was a space for herself where she could drive away the feeling of emptiness and worthlessness that she had cultivated internally for so long. She wanted to be independent, live somewhere where she could be comfortable and distance herself from all those she wished to.

So when she received a call from C&R for a position as Jumin Han's assistant she accepted before any conditions were even set. A handful of sacrificed hours of sleep and a haircut was all that was stopping her from making it on her own.

"I hope you understand what is expected of you in filling this position," were the first words Mr. Han said to her when they first met at the office building a couple days later.

"Of course, sir," Jaehee bowed slightly. "I plan to do my utmost best."

Her hair appointment was scheduled for that same afternoon. She had a couple hours to spare, however, so she figured she'd go grocery shopping given the lack of time she would have later on.

She couldn't afford very much due to her restricted budget, but knowing that she'd soon be paid twice as much, she allowed herself to buy a few extra things here and there.

She should've known better, though, because she ended up having to leave some things at the counter after all.

"It's a shame you have to leave these behind," the cashier commented, moving a bag of cookies to the side. "They're my favorite!"

Jaehee sighed, removing a pack of red bear and a gallon of milk in the process. "It's fine, I'll buy them next time. By then I'll have enough money to get twice as much."

"New job?" The cashier asked, scanning the rest of the items that Jaehee had stuck with.

Jaehee nodded in response. Normally she wouldn't partake in any sort of conversation with staff of any kind, but the store was practically empty and she didn't mind the momentary company. Besides, this seemed like the kind of first encounter she'd been waiting for!

"Sounds great!" The cashier smiled. "What'll you be doing now?"

"I'll just be an assistant at a big company, but the pay is good and I waa asked to cut my hair short so it must be pretty serious."

The cashier frowned slightly and stared at Jaehee's head. "Aww that's too bad. You have such pretty long hair!"

Jaehee tried her best to brush it off with, "Oh, it's not such a big deal."

However, the cashier was having none of it. Just as Jaehee was getting ready to pay, the cashier took out her own wallet and added the cookies back into her purchase.

"I said I wouldn't be taking those-" Jaehee attempted to stop her but the receipt was already printing out by then.

"Don't worry, these are on me," the cashier assured her, taking out a few bucks to cover the cost.

Jaehee was touched. Certainly this was a first encounter she hadn't been expecting. Even so, she felt guilty. "There really is no need..."

"Trust me," the cashier interrupted and winked, "you'll thank me later."

Jaehee only smiled, paid for the rest, and happily took her groceries, waving goodbye as she left the store.

She realized that she hadn't caught the cashier's name, but it didn't matter anyway. Although that first encounter had meant more than she would've imagined, she'd already accepted that she'd never again see the young woman.  
In fact, their interaction had been so short that she could hardly remember anything about her, save her long brown hair and bangs that made her eyes difficult to make out.

Needless to say, she was greatly surprised when she met her once more nearly two years later at a party hosted by a charity organization, as the woman she had befriended and had learned to cherish through a messenger app.

Jaehee should've known better. Of course she'd see her again. Her first encounters were never the last.


	2. First Encounters (MC)

**A/N: I really wasn't intending to write another part, but I felt inspired so here it is. Hope I made it different enough!**

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MC couldn't help but notice when the woman entered the store. It wasn't because she drew attention to herself or anything, but rather it was hard not to notice when the store only got a handful of customers at that time of day. In fact, MC was the envy of all the store staff, since she had somehow managed to land herself that shift. Half of the time, she was playing on her phone while the other two fortunate workers restocked shelves that were still practically full.

It just so happened that her battery was running low that day, which meant that she was also running out of things to do. So, out of boredom, she began to observe this most recent customer.

She was rather short, but nevertheless impressively dressed. MC admired her high heels most of all. They weren't the tallest she'd seen, but certainly more than she would be able to handle at the speed this woman was going. She didn't seem like she was in a rush per se, but she went about her shopping diligently, only making small detours here and there. It was as if she had a shopping list and a map of the store engraved into her mind.

Besides that, the woman had very nice, long hair. It was somewhat similar to MC's but shinier and much more controlled. MC's hair sometimes took ages to tame in the morning, but when she looked at the woman, she gave off such a determined aura that MC had no doubt that she had legitimately _woken up that way_.

The woman never looked her way, but MC suddenly found herself wishing she would. She knew nothing about her, yet she wanted to. She was _intrigued_ to say the least.

Her heart almost skipped a beat as the woman started heading her way. She almost forgot she was the cashier for a moment too, as she was so distracted thinking about what she was going to say.

In the end, MC couldn't think of anything to say, so she ended up keeping quiet as she began scanning the woman's items.

"That'll be 62776 won, please," MC was finally forced to speak up once she had finished scanning everything.

" _That_ much?" the woman asked, sounding slightly disappointed. "You know what, I'll leave the cookies."

MC was able to gather up a bit of courage and commented, "It's a shame you have to leave these behind. They're my favorite!"

The woman only sighed, removing a pack of red bear and a gallon of milk in the process. "It's fine, I'll buy them next time. By then I'll have enough money to get twice as much."

"New job?" MC asked before she could think it through. She could only hope that she was right.

To her relief, the woman nodded. MC might have been mistaken, but she thought she saw the woman brighten up a little more after that.

"Sounds great!" MC smiled, having gained some confidence and wanting to keep the conversation going. "What'll you be doing now?"

"I'll just be an assistant at a big company, but the pay is good and I was asked to cut my hair short so it must be pretty serious."

MC instinctively frowned. She imagined that the woman could pull off any hair style if she tried hard enough, but there was something about that long hair that she found enthralling. "Aww that's too bad. You have such pretty long hair!"

"Oh, it's not such a big deal," the woman insisted, but MC couldn't believe her.

Instead, she came up with an idea. MC took her wallet out of her pocket and placed the bag of cookies back into the rest of her stuff.

"I said I wouldn't be taking those-" the woman tried to stop her, but MC printed out the receipt before she could retaliate any further.

MC then proceeded to take a few bucks out of her wallet to cover the cost of the cookies. "Don't worry, these are on me."

"There really is no need..." the woman drifted off. MC pretended not to notice, but the woman's mood had definitely improved; she was just stubborn.

"Trust me," MC interrupted and winked, "you'll thank me later." She instantly regretted that last action, but the woman didn't seem to have minded.

It wasn't long before the woman paid for her goods and was long gone. MC sort of wished she had asked for the woman's name, but since she hadn't she could only hope to see her again some other time.

Unfortunately, the woman never did. She must've moved farther away or started coming at a different time, because MC didn't ever see her. She was disappointed to say the least, but she didn't linger too much on it. She had only spoken to that woman for five minutes, tops; it was nothing to be too upset about.

It wasn't until a couple years later, when she joined the RFA, that she came to realize that Jaehee was that same customer. Sometimes she'd debate bringing it up to her, but she figured she wouldn't've remembered the incident anyway.

Besides, she now had the opportunity to make better memories with her, so who needed the old ones?


End file.
